Tales of Latin-American Traditions

Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico — she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers.

Flying around Manhattan Island, somersaulting in midair, resting in the sky on a chair-shaped cloud... Rosalba and her grandmother, her abuela, are having an extraordinary adventure. How do they manage this exhilarating travel that started in the park? On Rosalba's marvelous imagination.

These 12 tales are a collection of legends, myths and folktales from 4 native Latin American cultures, spanning 13 different countries. These stories included here are retellings derived from pre- and post-Spanish arrival, and take readers on a voyage from the Caribbean all the way to Bolivia.

Fox wants to go to the moon. Mole does not — at least not until he hears about the huge worms waiting up there for him to eat. So the two of them set off on their adventure, with a little help from a rope of grass and their friends the birds.

Written in both Spanish and English, a young child asks his parents to "sing to me, say letters to me, rhyme with me, count with me, read with me."

The Dominican legend of the ciguapas, creatures who lived in underwater caves and whose feet were on backward so that humans couldn't follow their footprints, is reinvented by renowned author Julia Alvarez.

While helping her parents make the tamales for Christmas dinner, Maria sees her mother set her precious diamond ring to the side. It's so beautiful! And Maria only means to try it on for a minute. Then, all of a sudden, the ring is gone. Does she spy it in the tamale dough?

Naomi Soledad Leon Outlaw has had a lot to contend with in her young life, her name for one. Then there are her clothes (sewn in polyester by Gram), her difficulty speaking up, and her status at school as "nobody special." But according to Gram, most problems can be overcome with positive thinking.

"I wonder what it would be like to be free? Not to need wings because you don't have to fly away from your country?" From award-winning author Julia Alvarez comes the story of Anita de la Torre, a 12-year-old girl living in the Dominican Republic in 1960.

So begins life in the United States for many people every day.